Father's Day
by DuckonMooseEh
Summary: It's Father's Day, turning into another disaster. Sorry, bad summary please R


Well, I got the idea for this while I was mowing the lawn this morning. So, not much you need to know (other than that it is Father's Day) except for the fact that the Titans (minus Robin and possibly Raven, due to Haunted…) have yet to make the Batman/Wayne connection. Hopefully you enjoy this…

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Robin."

"What is it, Raven?" Robin groaned from his stereo in the kitchen. Cyborg and Beast Boy were fighting nearby about who was going to make dinner.

"I think you might want to watch this." The goth's normally calm voice had a slight tremble to it. Nobody else noticed, but to Robin it was painfully clear. She had been reading her book, glancing up every couple minutes for a glimpse of the evening news. So far there hadn't been anything important. Robin strode over to the couch, jumping over the back and sitting.

"Beast Boy, Cyborg, shut up for a second!" he shouted back at the arguing duo. The continued their argument, though silently now, as Robin listened to the reporter.

"… found earlier today in his office. The police have, as of yet, been unable to identify his attacker, and he is being treated in a private hospital." The reporter walked up a horribly familiar set of stairs to the entrance of Wayne manor, stopping in front of the door. "Unfortunately, nobody has been allowed an interview with his butler, and his adopted son has proven impossible to track down."

Robin turned of the television, shaking slightly. He didn't have to know what had been said at the beginning of the report to know who had been attacked.

"Dude, wasn't that what's-his-name's house?" Beast Boy asked from the kitchen. He and Cyborg had stopped fighting momentarily to catch their breath. "That really rich guy from Gotham City?"

"Yes," Raven answered him, looking carefully over at Robin, "He was attacked earlier today, and they aren't sure if he's going to pull through."

"Wow… that kinda sucks." Beast Boy watched as Robin stood and walked towards the door in a jerky fashion that made him look somewhat drunk. "Hey, Robin, where're you going?" Robin didn't answer. Beast Boy looked at Raven questioningly, but she just shrugged.

Not long after, Robin climbed off his motorcycle in front of the hospital he knew Wayne would be at. As he walked down the hall, the citizens and hospital workers stood aside, immediately recognizing his costume. Near the elevators, a doctor walked over.

"Hello, Robin," he said, "I take it you're hear to see Mr. Wayne?"

"Yes," the teen said, "I'm trying to find out who attacked him. We have reason to believe Slade may have had something to do with it." Robin had thought up a reason for his being there during the ride over. It wouldn't be good for them to find out who Bruce really was now.

"He's in room 17C, third floor. Do you need me to show you the way?"

"No," Robin said, shaking his head and stepping into the elevator that had just arrived, "But thanks." As the doors slid shut, he took a deep, steadying breath.

"How're you doing, Bruce?" Robin asked when he entered the room. A nurse stood nearby, switching the man to a new IV. A pulse tracker beeped intermittently in the corner.

"I'm fine," the man answered. He was paler than normal, from loss of blood. Several bandages covered his many wounds, blood soaking through the wrappings. "Is it okay if we have some privacy?" he asked the nurse. She nodded hesitantly, then stepped out of the room, closing the door.

"Who was it?" Robin asked quickly, pulling a chair up beside the bed. Bruce looked up at him, then sighed and closed his eyes.

"I don't know. They got me from behind, and knocked me out. When I woke up, I was here."

"I should have been there, Bruce. It's my fault this happened."

"Why should you have been there?" Bruce looked up at him, a small smile on his face. Robin shrugged. "You were where you needed to be. If you hadn't, what would've happened if Slade or someone else attacked?"

"I guess you're right." Robin sat in silence for a moment, then looked back at his friend. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Honestly, no." Trust Bruce to be brutal with the facts.

"You have to be, I still need you here."

"Why?" Once more, Bruce was smiling.

"I need guidance. You're like family to me, I don't know what to do without you."

Bruce looked at his sidekick for a moment, thinking. "You don't need me for family, anymore. You have the Titans. They're your family now."

"But I-" the man interrupted.

"And I've learned more from you recently than I've taught you. You'll be fine."

"I don't know what to do…" Robin trailed off, a lone tear sliding down his face at the prospect of losing the man he'd come to view as a father… and especially the prospect of losing him on Father's Day.

"You're going to go home and tell your new family the truth about me," Bruce said, "You're going to learn with them. Everything I own now belongs to the Teen Titans."

"What if everyone finds out you're Batman?"

"It doesn't really matter anymore, does it?"

Robin shook his head in silence. Bruce sat up slowly and embraced him, before falling back onto the bed and giving a racking cough. The pulse tracker began to lose time.

"You'll be fine. I've enjoyed working with you more than I could ever say."

"Thank you, Batman." Robin stood and gave a faint smile, then walked out of the room. Halfway down the long hall, he thought he heard the beeping from the cold, lonely room sputter, then stop altogether.

"Good bye, dad," Robin said as a nurse ran to the room.

"How'd it go?" Raven was standing alone in the entrance hall of Titan's Tower. Now that he was home, where it didn't matter if anyone knew the truth, Robin broke down. As he began to cry, he ran to Raven and hugged her. Surprisingly, she didn't move. Her body tensed up as though she wanted to blast him into oblivion, but she didn't move.

"He's dead, Raven." He heard the elevator open, and turned, trying to force himself to get back under control as the rest of the Titan's walked in.

"Hey, what's wrong, man?" Cyborg asked. He looked nervously at Raven, then back to Robin.

"Yeah," Beast Boy said, walking slowly forward.

"Bruce Wayne died as I was leaving. He died on Father's Day."

The others stared at him in silence and, mostly, confusion.

"Why's that so important?" Beast Boy asked, "It's not like he had any kids or anything."

"He didn't have any natural kids, no." Robin looked at the ground, then up at his confused team. "Bruce was like a father to me."

"What do you mean?" Starfire asked, "I thought the Batman was your father."

He didn't answer. Raven rolled her eyes at them, and finally Cyborg understood.

"You mean Wayne was Batman?"

Robin nodded. The others shared a moment of silence, then offered him their apologies. After several minutes, Raven left, closely trailed by Beast Boy.

"What do you want?" she asked him in the elevator. He shrugged.

"I just have a hard time connecting with that," Beast Boy said, "I mean, I hardly even knew my father. I kinda figured you'd have the same feeling."

Raven looked at him in silence, then at the ground, "Even a half-demon needs a father."

"What?" Beast Boy looked at her in confusion, "But you're father hates you. He's trying to use you to kill everyone!"

"But he's still the only family I have left," Raven said, "And, as close as I am to this team, none of you love me. Not the way I need to be loved. These holidays are just another reminder of how alone I really am."

"What do you mean, Raven?" Beast Boy demanded. Not with any hostility, just as though he couldn't quite believe what she was saying. "We do love you, you're like a sister to us. You're really important to the team."

"Don't you understand?" Raven said as the elevator slid open, "I don't want to just be a part of the team. I need people to love me if I can ever hope to defeat my father. I need a real family, not just a team that cares about each other. Even a demon wants to be loved." And with that, she left him on the elevator, even more confused than he had been.

Trigon gazed with hate at the thing he had just found. It reeked of his daughter.

The parcel, consisting of a piece of parchment and a black rose, lay at his feet. With a threatening growl, he lifted the parchment and read it.

_Happy Father's Day. With 'love', to the only living family I have left. You're daughter, Raven._

The Demon spat on the parchment, looking up at the small window through which he could see the mortal realm. His daughter lay on her bed, crying.

"Of course you know, daughter," he said, "That this changes nothing. You are alone. And you always will be."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Well, I don't really know what the point of this was. I guess mostly, make sure you tell your loved ones that you care about them. If you don't, something may happen to them and you'll never get another chance to show them how much you love them. Also, I guess you need to show that you care about those who don't care for you. I need to work on that little bit. If I do, maybe my family'll get along a little better. Just remember that everyone needs to know you care about them, and if you hesitate, you may lose the chance. I meant for this to be happy, but I guess it didn't really turn out that way. I hope you enjoyed it anyways. Please review, regardless.


End file.
